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Moro Islamic Liberation Front: We Don’t Measure Battle Victory By Body Counts
7 July 2009
In response to the claim of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) suffered more than 1,000 killed in combat since July 2008, a senior member of the MILF military General Staff, who requested anonymity, told www.luwaran.com that military victory cannot and should not be measured by the number of enemy killed or wounded in combat. “This is a superficial yardstick of measuring victory in war and only people with blood-thirsty mindset have this view,” he clarified. He said the MILF’s way of measuring success is how far the government and the MILF reduce the fighting and proceed with the peace talks in the most civilized way. He said this is the reason why the MILF is always committed for the negotiated political settlement of the Moro Problem and the armed conflict in Mindanao. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman for the military's 6th Infantry Division, told newsmen that the AFP would not have released the rebel casualty figures if the MILF had not claimed that more than 500 government soldiers have been killed since last year. Ponce was the one who told media that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are “enemy reserve force” which drew in immediate criticism from human rights groups and the media. Immediately, Ambassador Rafael Seguis and Atty. Bong Montessa, who were in Maguindanao when the statement was made, made a correction short of castigating Ponce. “It is not the official government line,” said Seguis, in another interview. The report on number of government casualties is contained in a comprehensive encounter report released by the MILF last July 1, 2009 during a dialogue involving 52-man media group in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. The report covered the period from July 1, 2008 to June 15, 2009. However, the report did not contain the downing of two air spy vehicles, first on November 1, 2008, and second on June 9, 2009. Both vehicles were shot down in Guindolongan, Maguindanao. But report on the encounters in Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte is contained in another document.
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